Friday, June 20, 2014

How Andrew Got His Spots - Book Review & Giveaway

How Andrew Got His Spots - Blog Tour Button FINAL

About the Book

Title: How Andrew Got His Spots
Author: Louise Lintvelt
Illustrator: Julie Sneeden
Publication Date: April 16, 2014
Publisher: eBookPartnership.com
Number of pages: 15
Recommended age: 3 to 8
Summary: Poor Andrew is feeling very blue, all the other giraffes are very spotty but he is as white as can be. He does not have any spots, you see! He keeps seeing spots wherever he goes…

One spot,
two spots,
three spots,
Four!
And many, many, many more.

“Where did you get your spots?” he asks. Join Andrew as he discovers how the ladybug, the leopard and the owl came to have spots and discovers that spots often appear when you are least expecting them!

This is a wonderful rhyming picture book for children of all ages.

Narrated Video of How Andrew Got His Spots



My Review

A colorful rhyming book about Andrew, a baby giraffe who finally got his spots.  This book is great for kids who are just starting out to read on their own as the words are simple, the rhyming makes reading fun too.  I think its more suitable for 4 to 5 years old, older kids may think this is too "kiddish" and easy since they should be starting to read chapter books at that age.

I'm a visual person thus a little bit particular about illustrations and drawings so this is purely from my perspective.  I do not quite like the book's illustration because the animals does not look proportionate to me.  For example the first drawing of the leopard, the tail is too long, the next drawing shows the leopard with a head that is too small.  Andrew has different looks on every page of the book, I personally feel that main characters should have a distinctive look and it should stay the same throughout the whole book.  I am sure the illustrator is able to keep that distinctive look even if he is drawing free hand instead of using a software.

Seeing the illustration, it got me curious so I goggled on the illustrator Julie Sneeden, I like her portraits and landscape paintings better.  I especially like her Trellised Garden Walkway painting, makes me want to stroll through the garden and sit by the fountain.

Purchase


About the Author: Louise Lintvelt


I am from South Africa and I live in a city called Pretoria. I am a Chemical Engineer by day and a children’s book writer by night. I am married to a wonderful man and we have a beautiful two year old daughter called Allegra. I love writing stories for my daughter, who is a constant inspiration.

I have always loved reading. My childhood was filled with books and you would often find me crouched the corner of my room devouring the pages of my favourite book. I lived for Tuesday mornings as this would bring with it the excitement of a trip to the local library for story hour and the opportunity to take home a new book. I was the local librarian’s worst nightmare. I would arrive a few minutes early to check that she had not mistakenly chosen a book that had already been read in story hour.

I was a very bossy three year old with an insatiable appetite for books! This has not really changed much in the last twenty seven years. Dr. Seuss was my absolute favourite and to say that my copy of One, Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish was well read would be an understatement.

When it comes to writing, my daughter is my biggest inspiration. I love seeing her face light up with excitement when we sit down to read a book before bedtime. My daughter was fascinated by giraffes after we went on a safari trip in late 2012. This planted the seed for my picture book called How Andrew Got His Spots which is a rhyming adaptation of a story I originally wrote in the third grade. My daughter has since grown into a healthy two year old with a passion for aircraft which was the inspiration for writing Goodnight, Sleep tight, What a Wonderful Flight.

I am sure that there are many parents in the world (myself included), who are quite decidedly sick and tired of reading the same favourite picture book night after night. I believe that the words of Oscar Wilde best describe how children should feel about picture books when he said, If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.

Happy Reading!


* Blog Tour Giveaway *


Prize: $25 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal cash (winner’s choice)
Contest ends: July 15, 11:59 pm, 2014
Open: Internationally
How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the author, Louise Lintvelt and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.

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2 comments:

  1. Of course, I had to go back and examine the illustrations more closely. Now I'm seeing what you are seeing! lol Very interesting! It would be difficult to move past issues with the illustrations in a picture book. I've felt that way about some books too! Thanks for taking part in the How Andrew Got His Spots Blog Tour.

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    Replies
    1. It's my pet peeve, tried to ignore it many times but just can't, sometimes I feel so silly for getting worked up with some drawings.

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